… lauds team’s batting, bowling units

By Clifton Ross

KRAIGG Brathwaite, the West Indies skipper, doesn’t want his guys to become complacent ahead of the all-important battle, which bowls off today. He is urging them to replicate the fight they displayed during the historic win in the first match.
Brathwaite seemed in tune on Wednesday during his virtual conference, when describing the Windies possible tactics heading into the second and final Test at Dhaka.
“We got a nice win but we have to start over fresh. We have to buckle down and can’t be complacent. We have to fight hard again. We, as a team, don’t want to get too far ahead. We have five days of Test cricket to play. We are very happy to have won the first Test.” said the opener.

It was a thrilling end to the first Test when West Indies made history by chasing 395 in what was the largest successful run-chase in the continent of Asian. Speaking on the momentum gained from that emphatic win, the Barbadian said the energy was high; but wanted his players to remain in attack mode.
“We want to buckle down. Victory has meant a lot for us. The guys are very proud of winning the first Test but we look forward to the next five days. The biggest thing is not to get carried away. We are happy with the win but we know we start from zero. It’s one of the things that the coach has stressed in the practice sessions,” Brathwaite pointed out.
Most of the heavy lifting was done by Kyle Mayers who slammed 210, being the 5th person in history to score a double ton on Test debut. Another debutant, Jamaican Nkrumah Bonner, scored 86 as the pair shared a 200-plus 4th run partnership which saw their team home by 3 wickets.

Regarding their actual game plan, Brathwaite believes that his unit was on the right path but still needed to tighten up, come today.
“The guys are working hard, for me to them is to stay disciplined and stick to your plans, both as a bowling and a batting unit. It is obviously challenging but I enjoy leading from a young age. We have a good group here and they are disciplined which always makes it easier,” preached the young captain.
Also, for those who were in fear of the Windies inexperienced side faltering terribly, especially after their full-strength teams struggled in England and New Zealand, Brathwaite fully backed his boys and their capabilities despite their obvious freshness to international cricket.
“I want to say this is not a depleted squad. I firmly believe everyone here is capable of doing the job at the international level.”
He continued, “There’s no added pressure on me. My role as an opening batsman is to build the foundation for the team.”